


To Build A Home

by BelaBellissima



Series: Lady Lazarus [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Under the Red Hood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brother-Sister Relationships, DC did my mom Talia dirty so I'm going to fix it, Dead Robins Club, Gen, Marie Kondo-ing Canon, Moving into a new house, aka i pick what I like and throw out the rest, no profreading we die like mne, prudence owens and Z from Red Robin make an appearance bc i love Pru so much, rated teen for mild language, talia / jason never happened shes his mom ew
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 10:30:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20487428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BelaBellissima/pseuds/BelaBellissima
Summary: Stephanie and Jason move into their new place and catch up over lunch with an old friend.





	To Build A Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [youngjusticewriter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/youngjusticewriter/gifts).

> There is a house built out of stone  
Wooden floors, walls and window sills  
Tables and chairs worn by all of the dust  
This is a place where I don't feel alone  
This is a place where I feel at home  
'Cause, I built a home  
For you  
For me  
-To Build A Home by The Cinematic Orchestra
> 
> heyo everyone, been a while lmao

Jason is dragging his feet – ironic considering the fact that it’s Steph who still can’t walk long distances unassisted. Steph wishes he would go a little faster – she’s stuck on his back at the moment, getting a piggy-back-ride because her feet are hurting. She could probably walk if she really wanted to, but she likes jetpacking him, and it’s a good enough workout on its own since he doesn’t do anything to help her stay on.

“Why do we need to do this again?” Jason complains, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck while his free hand props on his hip. Steph is reminded of one of those old photos people took in the fifties, of the jocks in their white sleeveless tanks and cargo shorts, frozen in an artfully irritated pose. It’s just her being on his back and his Wonder Woman print top that ruins the aesthetic.

“Because I like having nice things Jason,” Steph answers, ignoring the disgruntled moan Jason lets out.

“It’s just apartment shopping. It’s not like it’s be our only one. I‘ve got safehouses all over the city, and I’m sure that you still have some too.”

“I want an actual place, Jason. Not just a safe house. And don’t say we can just stay in your apartment,” Steph demands, cutting Jason off from his budding complaint about exactly that. “Your apartment is great, I love it, but it’s only got one bedroom. I don’t want to sleep on a couch anymore. I don’t want you sleeping on the couch anymore. I don’t want to sleep in the “guest-room” we threw together that isn’t really a bedroom. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind sharing the bed every once in a while, but I want my own individual bed too. My own room. Like, you’re a great brother and all, but a girl’s gotta have space sometimes.”

The building landlord showing them around the apartment gets an almost panicked look on his face, a terrified, wow-I-should-not-have-been-eavesdropping-because-I-did-not-want-to-hear-that expression that makes Steph smirk.

“Chill, dude. Not actually siblings. Sorta. Okay, definitely siblings, just not blood related. And I’m injured, as you can see. Big bro’s taking care of me while I heal.”

Jason laughs hard enough that Steph fears for a moment that she’s going to fall off, but he manages to keep her balanced on his back as they walk further through the empty apartment.

The man clears his throat. “Yes, well, as you can see, the apartment is three bedroom and one and a half bath. Two of the bedrooms connect to the one full bath in a Jack-and-Jill style, while the guest bedroom has the half-bath right across the hall.” He gestures down the hallway to the right to showcase the two bedrooms.

True to his word, there’s an open door at the end of the hall, revealing a bathroom. A little closer to them on the sides of the hall are the two master bedrooms, the insides hidden due to the angles.

The building landlord then directs their attention to the other side of the house, where two doors signify the guest room and the half-bath tucked away in the corner. They’re currently standing in the spacious living room, the open floorplan and three windows along the far wall giving the room a nice, airy, and bright atmosphere.

“If you look over here,” he directs their attention back around, where a little kitchenette waits, spotlessly clean – at least for the moment; It will be dirty soon enough should they decide on this place. “The kitchen is spacious without a center island, giving the renters the ability to have more people fit and help out,” the man spins, trying to make the lack of extra drawers and storage a benefit. Given that there’s 0nly two of them, Stephanie doubts they’ll need the extra space _or_ storage, so either way she’s sold. As long as she can make food, she doesn’t care.

Not that she really _likes_ making food – other than waffles, that is. But yeah, she does enjoy not starving on principle.

“I like it,” Steph says into Jason’s ear, her breath tickling his neck enough that he lets go of her leg to rub the itch away grumpily. Steph laughs softly at the action, making Jason huff and have to rub the itch away again.

“It’s better than the last four, that’s for sure,” Jason adds, turning them in a circle slowly to look over everything again. “But it’s going to be expensive. This place is pretty classy for a Gotham apartment.”

Steph shrugs. “Yeah, I know. If you want to try and find a cheaper place, I’m good to go.”

Jason hesitates. “You really like this place though, don’t you?”

Steph purses her lips for a moment, the action barely visible in the corner of Jason’s eye even if he turns his head more toward her. Eventually she nods softly.

“It’s the nicest place I’ve seen other than the Manor.”

And Jason… he swore to himself that he wouldn’t use the money and accounts Talia set up for him, not unless it was a life or death emergency, but Steph looks so hopeful, even though she’s trying to hide how much she wants it. Jason’s technically only known her for three and a half months, but she sure as hell is a better sibling than Dick ever was, and he doesn’t even want to consider that boy Bruce replaced him with…

“We’ll take it,” Jason interrupts the man still trying to sell to them. He has to pause to think for a bit, the sudden acceptance surprising.

“Ah… okay then,” he smiles and clasps his hands together. “I’ll go get the paperwork ready. When would you like to move in?”

“Immediately, if possible. Today?” Jason says, smiling a little when Steph grins large enough for him to feel it and hooks her head over his shoulder.

The landlord leaves with a nod, and Jason shifts Steph’s weight on his back so that he can free one hand and pull out his phone. He sends a text off to Talia telling her what’s up, telling her the amount of money he’ll need and asking which account he should take it from. He knows she set up several for him, but what he does not know is if they’ll be okay to tie to a home base. Talia had left him the accounts under the impression they would be for weapons and supplies, not lodging.

She texts back immediately, a scolding message that says of course the accounts will hold up, she’s not an idiot, she knows how to cover her tracks and set up legitimate holdings. She also tells him that in no uncertain terms he will allow her assistance in the move, which takes care of Jason’s next big issue.

Steph is still too injured to walk for more than an hour or two at a time – she’s only been alive again for four and a half months at this point, only twenty weeks of recovery without hospitals or a Lazarus pit. There’s no way she’ll ever be able to lift heavy furniture or even carry boxes up. She’s already done her walking for the day and her physical therapy; she’s wiped and sore and Jason really doesn’t want her to push too hard and get hurt because of it.

Having Talia’s people, even if they are assassins, help them will be perfect.

Jason sends her back a quick _thanks mom ;) :P _because he can be an asshole sometimes, but he also wants to thank her anyway. It’s the second time she’s helped him by sending her people to his aid, the first being the dentally proficient assassin that had fixed Steph’s teeth.

“Who ya texting?” Steph asks conspiratorially in his ear. She’s tilting her head down, but hasn’t lifted it off his shoulder, so her chin digs into his collarbone. She’s grinning, because of course she is. She’s just that kind of girl.

“Talia,” Jason answers, tucking his phone back into his pocket. He knows better than to expect another response from Talia after his last comment. “It’s her money that I’m using, and she also is sending some of her people over to help move us in.”

Steph’s eyes go wide in surprise. “Wow. That’s generous of her.”

Jason shrugs. “Like I said a few months ago, Talia’s not that bad once you get to know her. She cares about me, at least. And Damian.”

“Who’s that?”

It’s Jason’s turn for his eyes to go wide. “Damian is Talia and Bruce’s son. Have I really never mentioned him before?”

Steph shakes her head, still refusing to lift it off his shoulder. It feels weird, so he rolls his shoulder a bit to get rid of the feeling. Steph is forced to lift her head or accidentally bite her tongue, and she shoots him a petulant glare for making her move.

“No,” she says. “You haven’t. Does Bruce know about him?”

Jason walks over to the large window while he answers, letting Steph slide down off his back. He helps her sit down against the wall, then takes his seat next to her.

“Nah, he doesn’t. Talia kept Damian’s existence a secret from a lot of people. Even her own father doesn’t know about him yet. She’s afraid what Ra’s might do to him if he finds out.”

Steph hums. “That sucks.”

“No kidding,” Jason laughs. “One thing’s for sure, that boy has a tough life ahead of him. I don’t envy it at all.”

He goes quiet, introspective for a moment. Steph can tell he’s feeling something strongly, a little sad and wistful at the same time.

“You miss him, don’t you?”

Jason startles like he’d zoned out and considers her words for a second before offering a stilted nod. “Yeah, I guess I do. I watched him train sometimes, from across the room, and the shit his trainers put him through made me want to steal him away and forget my own training. We would eat dinner together sometimes. He liked to ask me about Bruce and Gotham.”

Steph stays quiet, thinking about what it must have been like for Jason in the League. Before she can say anything, the landlord returns with a clipboard and a giant salesman-smile. He passes the clipboard to Jason, who signs with his alias Todd Peterson, a classic and easy to remember name.

Steph has to co-sign, and she panics for a brief moment. She doesn’t know if her old alias’ will still work, but it’s not like she really has a choice now that the landlord is waiting on her.

She scrawls out _Constance Aberthine _out quickly, followed by June 19, 2018 right next to it. Jason had written the date as 19 June without the year, which made Steph shoot him a look.

“What?” he asks, clearly unaware of why she was sending him the look. He fills out the next pages quickly, writing in account information and everything necessary for the legal bits. Steph rests her head on his shoulder as he scribbles, ignoring how the landlord stands in front of them awkwardly, hands held behind his back as he waits. Jason passes the clipboard up to him, and the man hands over two keys.

“Pleasure doing business with you, sir, mam,” he says, shaking each of their hands, tucking the clipboard against his side as he swiftly leaves.

Jason is looking down at her when they hear a surprised sound come from the landlord, holding open the door for three people. Steph doesn’t recognize any of them, but Jason straightens up from his slouch and smiles.

“Hey Baldy,” he says, and the young girl sneers at him. “That was fast.”

“Suck a dick, Todd,” she says, ignoring the flabbergasted and flushing face of the landlord as she pushes past him into the apartment, her two companions following behind. The last one in gently pushes the landlord out of the apartment, shutting the door in his face. Steph thinks she can’t be much older than her, her face still looking incredibly youthful despite the lack of hair and seemingly perpetual sneer.

The bald girl looks at Steph, sizing her up from her position on the floor. After a tense moment, she looks back to Jason, apparently satisfied.

“Surprised Talia let you out for this,” Jason says, and the girl scoffs, rolling her whole head with her eyes. One of the other men shifts his weight, turning his head down slightly to hide the slight smile he allows.

“You know she likes you. She’ll do inane things if you ask. Besides, she’s in town anyway.”

Jason perks up instantly. “Well then, she’ll probably find us faster than we could find her. Here you go,” he says, handing one of the new keys to the bald woman. “You know where my old place is, move everything over. Don’t worry about placement too much, I’ll rearrange.”

Baldy rolls her eyes again, throwing the key over her shoulder to one of the other assassins. “Whatever, get going. Try the Persian restaurant two blocks over.”

The restaurant, named Ravagh, is a quaint little place, a hole-in-the-wall style dining. Steph knows there are a few spread out across Gotham, but this one looks new, with still small crowds and plenty of open tables. Then again, it's barely lunch time, so that might have been because the rush hadn’t yet begun.

Jason immediately heads over to a back table. A woman is sitting there, menu up and hiding a large portion of her face, but as they approach, she lowers it back to the table.

“Hello Jason,” Talia al Ghul says. “How are you doing?”

Jason sets Steph down first, before sliding into the booth against the wall. Steph sits next to him, ready to bolt in a moment. Jason may trust and like Talia, but Steph doesn’t know her at all.

“I’m good. The plan is still coming together, but as you can see, there were some complications. The timeline has been expanded.”

Talia turns her gaze to Stephanie.

“Ah yes. The girl Robin.”

Steph sits up straighter.

“And why is she here, Jason?” Talia doesn’t look away from Steph as she asks. Steph matches her gaze. She learned the batglare from Bruce, and she wasn’t about to give in so easily.

“She’s like me. Killed and replaced and revived. I wasn’t going to leave her alone like I was until you found me.”

Talia’s eyes narrow. “And she won’t interfere?”

“No.”

Jason reaches out and puts one of his hands on top of Talia’s. She looks down at the contact point for a second, then flicks her eyes back to Jason. Several seconds pass where nothing more happens, a silent conversation happening right in front of Stephanie between the Daughter of the Demon and her brother.

And then, like the snapping of an elastic band, Talia leans back, her hands falling loosely to her side, a reserved smile on her face. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Brown.”

Stephanie’s eyes boggle nearly out of her head. Just like that?

“You too, mam.”

Talia raises a brow, and Steph tries not to blush. So what if she calls her that? it’s not like she knows the right way to address a once-enemy.

“Jason? Be a dear and go get us something from the buffet.”

Jason looks between the two of them for a moment before obliging, sliding out underneath the table in barely two seconds so as to not make Steph move again.

Talia chuckles as he goes. “That boy…”

She sighs wistfully, then folds her hands in front of her. “Are you going to try and stop him?” Talia asks.

Steph shakes her head. “Killing may not be something I’m quite willing to do, but I can understand where he’s coming from, and I support him. I won’t betray him, I’m not even telling Bruce that I’m back, let alone spilling Jason’s return before he’s ready.”

Talia smiles a little wider. “Good. I won’t have anything hurting him.”

Talia looks away to pick up a spoon and stir the mug in front of her. Steph gets a whiff of cardamom and black tea, and suddenly she wants nothing more than a nice hot mug of English Breakfast. Her om used to steep a large pot every night, even when she was high, and Steph would always sneak a cup of the dregs, heating it up in the microwave if it was already cold.

The mug squeaks as it slides across the table to rest in front of Steph, the wax on the table catching just enough to make it not smooth like Talia was likely hoping. The liquid inside sloshes a bit from side to side, tiny waves trapped by ceramic walls.

Stephanie takes it slowly, letting the warmth from the mug heat her fingers as she lifts it to her lips. She inhales deeply, eyes closing in bliss as she sighs, content. The tea tastes different than normal, the cardamom a soft nudge to the senses.

“Thank you,” Stephanie says, lowering the tea slowly. Talia already has another mug poured, the teapot off to the side of the table clinking as it’s set down, barely audible.

“Good tea is its own reward.”

Steph blinks. Did the Daughter of the Demon really just quote Avatar?

Jason returns before Steph can voice her question.

“I got a little of everything for you Steph,” he says, placing a very full plate in front of her. “And for you, your favorites,” he adds, putting a much less full plate in front of Talia.

Talia thanks him, reaching out with her fingers of all things to pick up some of the food. IT crunches a bit when Talia bites into it, and she smiles at the taste. “I have not had good tahdig in weeks,” she sighs out, before putting it down to focus on the rest of the food.

Steph picks up one of the kebabs on her plate. It looks to be beef, but when she bites into it, it tastes different.

“Lamb, probably,” Talia says, noticing Steph’s curiosity. She reaches over and breaks a piece of meat off, chewing it thoughtfully, then nods. “Yes, it’s lamb.”

Steph takes another bite. She’s never had it before, but it’s good.

The whole meal is good, actually, and by the time Jason gets a text saying the apartment is unpacked, Steph feels fuller than she has in a long time. Talia waves them off when Jason goes to pay, and Jason just grins.

“I’d use the card you gave me,” he jokes. “Either way you’ll be the one paying.”

“Then it doesn’t matter if I hand over the money or not.”

They leave with several to-go boxes, and Stephanie decides to walk the way back herself, having rested her legs long enough while eating. Talia hugs Jason outside their apartment, whispering something into his ear. Jason smiles and nods at whatever it is that she says.

Talia turns to Steph next. She doesn’t hug her the way she hugged Jason, but she does reach out and put a hand on her shoulder. “Khodahafez, Stephanie Brown. I’ll be in touch.”

Talia turns away after that, blending into the Gotham streets easily. In seconds, she is indistinguishable from anyone else, and Steph loses sight of her.

Jason nudges Steph with his elbow. “She likes you.”

Steph nudges him back harder, making Jason take a step back as he laughs. “Not as much as she clearly cares about you. I’m glad.”

Jason’s smile fades as eh sobers quickly.

“You deserve to have people care about you.”

Jason brushes it off with a huff. “Yeah yeah. You do too, Blondie. Don’t forget it.”

Steph smiles, links her arm around Jason’s, and looks up at their apartment building, to where the window from their room is open, letting in a breeze.

“Shall we go see our new place?” she asks.

Jason grins, lighting up his whole face. He holds out his other arm. “Lead the way.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Find me online!](https://linktr.ee/belabellissima)


End file.
